Volkswagen is trying to decide whether to send over from Europe its Golf GTD, the diesel counterpart to the sporty GTI hatchback.

VW tossed me the keys to a Scirocco Green German-market GTD for a long weekend and will buy me lunch to get my 2 cents.

The GTI earned the respect of American/Euro sport enthusiasts at the debut of the hot hatch in 1984 when VW’s TV advertising put its vibe to the beat of the Ronnie and the Daytonas’ “Little GTO.” The spot showed a brace of rowdy Rabbits playing catch and catching air on a race track. The GTI name became a gold standard after that.

There are no plans to sell the current-generation GTD in the United States. But "I really want to bring it over with the next generation," said Rainer Michel, VW of America's vice president of product marketing and strategy.

In Europe, the GTD is sold in three- and five-door hatchback models with a six-speed manual or six-speed dual clutch (automated manual) with a Sport mode. Starting prices in the U.K. range from about $20,000 to $28,000. In the U.S., a GTI automatic starts at $25,390.

Volkswagen already sells a diesel-powered Golf TDI in the U.S. ($25,030 to start), which gets up to 40 mpg on the highway. It uses a 140-hp, turbocharged, direct-injection 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 236 foot-pounds of torque at 1,750 rpm.

The GTD would move in with 170-hp and 258 lb.-ft. torque that peaks from 1,750 to 2,500 rpm. That’s the kind of low-end launch that creates diesel-believers.

Mileage mavens can still get approximately 40 mpg in standard mode, but grabbing Sport sharpens shift points and acceleration. There’s barely a second’s gasp of the turbo to activate and kick this ride in the backside. Acceleration is brisk at 0-62 mph in 8.1 seconds (about a second slower than the GTI) with a top speed limited to 137.